Schools that serve military bases face unique challenges. There will always be an influx of new students as assignments change and the inevitable disruption of classes when families leave in the middle of the school year. Military parents don't work typical nine-to-five jobs, so schools face an additional hardship when recruiting parent volunteers.
The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Cavazos Adopt-a-School program partners with 117 schools across nine school districts to support the local community and fill needs for the schools. Now-retired Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, former III Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general, launched the program as a way to strengthen ties among the greater-Fort Cavazos community. This ongoing community program establishes Fort Cavazos as a beacon in the local community throughout central Texas.
Let the Community Choose
Fort Cavazos' Adopt-a-School program doesn't tell schools what to do. Instead, they listen to the schools' needs and provide service members opportunities to fill those needs.
AAS asks schools to create wish lists that units and individual service members can look through to decide what they'd like to volunteer for and what aligns best with their mission. An entire unit may adopt a school to fulfill their wish list or individual service members can choose the tasks themselves. With special permission, service members are allowed to use mission time to fulfill their obligation to the schools, creating a two-way support system for the schools and service members.
Meet and greets, conversations with principals and joint school visits facilitate this conversation. In cases where a whole unit adopts a school, the unit selects a representative to be the main point of contact for the school. In return, schools provide a POC for the unit through the school liaison officer. The AAS program continues even through deployments and when a unit leaves through a permanent change of station. When this happens, a transition of authority process transfers POC information and ensures the school administration is aware so the program can continue smoothly.
Activities put soldiers into roles as teachers, coaches and mentors to students. Some of the wish list activities include reading to children, teaching about the effects of drugs and alcohol, community cleanup and implementing programs for students to get involved, such as the Youth Environmental Ambassadors. Activities can be as simple as being there on the first day of school to give a nervous student a high-five and a pep talk as they head inside.
The Outcome
This program is a huge morale boost for local schools and individual service members. The AAS program is considered a dependable classroom resource that provides continuity for the students, teachers and administrators.
Small acts of service work to build trust between the post and the community. By having service members in classrooms, students become more accustomed to seeing uniforms and interacting with the inherent authority that comes from being in the service. This humanizes service members and helps the community feel more comfortable and connected to the base. It also helps service members feel more comfortable and connected to the community, so they feel more at home during their stay. As many service members also have school-aged children, it helps them take on the usual volunteering that parents are often expected to do while still fulfilling mission requirements.
By going into schools, there is also a chance to meet students that may have otherwise been out of reach. When service members connect with students in a positive and meaningful way, there is increased potential that they will inspire the student to fulfill the call to duty once they are eligible.
Finally, Fort Cavazos's AAS program has resulted in significant positive media coverage for the base. Over the years, countless articles, editorials and video news stories have been written and produced about the program, like these articles produced by Cove Herald and Fort Cavazos Sentinel.
Lesson Learned
Investment in community relations pays big dividends. The more effort bases dedicate to community relations, the more civilians see the military as an integral part of their community. These relationships provide tangible benefits when incidents occur and avoid wasting time trying to build new bridges.
The Adopt-a-School program shows how it's possible to merge the commander's intent (invest in people) with community relations seamlessly and beneficially. Soldiers fulfill a volunteer commitment in the community, and, in turn, the community gains a valuable human resource.
Community relations efforts work best when they are collaborative, so follow Fort Cavazos's lead and connect with neighbors about what they want and need. Let those needs fuel mission motivation as people find their match.